Ignition point with protecting means



Nov. 25, 1952 A. w. WESTFALL 2,619,555

IGNITION POINT WITH PROTECTING MEANS Filed Jan. 19, 1951 Arm/n M West/all JNVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE IGNITION POINT WVITH PROTECTING MEA 1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in distributors of internal combustion engines, more particularly, the so-called ignition points" used in the distributor, and the principal object of the invention is to protect the points from oil, dirt, dust and other foreign matter, the presence of which usually causes the points to sustain premature damage and, in many cases, complete inoperability.

The above object is achieved by the provision of protecting means which are carried by one of the tw point contact members and which extend over the contact points in such manner as to shield the same from dirt, oil, and other foreign matter, particularly that which is thrown out by centrifugal force from the cam of the distributor.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its efiicient and dependable operation, and in its adaptability for use in association with ignition points of different types.

With the above more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a top plan View of a distributor with the cap thereof removed, so as to reveal the invention associated with the ignition points;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the distributor, the same being partially broken away for illustrative purposes;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 33 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4-4 in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the shielding means on the oscillatory contact point member.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the general reference character I 0 designates a conventional distributor including a rotatable shaft l2 which extends upwardly through a base plate I4 and is provided with a cam l6, while a stationary member I8 is secured by screws 2|] to the base plate l4 and is provided 2 with an upturned portion 22 carrying a contact point 24.

The stationary member is is also equipped with an upstanding post 25 on which is mounted an oscillatory member 28, the latter having a free end portion equipped with equal acting contact point 30 which is movable toward and away from the contact point 24.

Moreover, the intermediate portion of the member 28 is provided with an angle shaped wear block for operatively engaging the cam [6, all of this, of course, being of a conventional nature.

The invention resides in the provision of an inverted substantially J-shaped shield 34 which has one side edge thereof secured in any suitable manner to the member 28 in a location between the contact point 39 and the wear block 32, it being noted that the shield 34 extends upwardly above the contact points 24, 30, as well as downwardly so as to form an angular shield portion 36, as is best shown in Figure 5.

The shield 34 is so arranged that the relatively long side thereof is disposed immediately adjacent the point of contact of the wear block 32 with the cam l6, so that when the shaft I2 rotates clockwisely in the direction of the arrow 38, any lubricant, dust, or other detritus which may be thrown tangentially from the cam is prevented from falling on or between the contact points 24, 30 and thereby interfering with their operation.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details f construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is: I

In a distributor, the combination of a base plate, a rotatable shaft extending upwardly through said base plate and having a cam at its upper end, a stationary member secured to said base plate and having a contact point thereon, an oscillatory member mounted on said base plate and having a coacting contact point movable toward and away from the first mentioned contact point, a wear element secured to an intermediate portion of the oscillatory member for operatively engaging said cam, and an inverted substantially J-shaped shield secured to the oscillatory member at a location between the contact point thereon and said wear element, 5

said shield extending over the first and second mentioned contact points and having a side thereof disposed adjacent said cam.

ARMIN W. WES'I FAJLL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number 4 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Allendorf Nov. 14, 1933 Anderson Apr. 9, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain in, Oct. 29, 1941 

